Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200043S
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00:01 Hello, friends, we're diving into week four,
00:03 that's lesson number four, 00:05 and we're talking about the Eyes of the Lord. 00:08 We're also going to be discussing 00:09 the biblical worldview. 00:11 So again, we encourage you to get ready, get your notes, 00:14 your pens, all those things together, 00:16 because this week we're going to have 00:17 an exciting Bible study, 00:19 diving into some important aspects 00:21 of how to perceive God 00:22 and the correct biblical worldview. 00:25 If you will need a copy of this lesson, 00:26 or perhaps maybe you're new to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel, 00:29 you can go to ABSG.Adventist.org. 00:34 That stands for Adult Bible Study Guide, 00:37 go there and get a copy for free 00:39 or you can simply go 00:40 to your local Seventh-day Adventist Church, 00:42 and I'm sure they would love to give you one for free as well 00:44 and even study with you. 00:45 So thank you so much for joining us again 00:47 for another exciting epic Bible study adventure. 00:50 We'll see in just a few moments. 01:23 Hello, friends, and welcome to another week 01:25 of 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:26 As always, we're very thankful 01:28 that you've taken time out of your busy day 01:30 to study with us 01:31 because we here on this panel, we love the Lord. 01:33 And we love His Word, we love truth, 01:35 we're all about truth here at 3ABN, 01:38 and we're going to continue to preach the Word 01:41 and uplift the truth in spirit 01:43 and in truth as the Bible teaches us. 01:45 And this week we're taking on lesson number four, 01:47 which is entitled "The Eyes of the Lord." 01:50 And kind of the subtitle behind that 01:53 is the biblical worldview. 01:54 And so we're going to be diving deep into some things 01:57 that are very interesting, exciting, 01:59 and we're going to be kind of dissecting 02:02 what it means to have a biblical worldview. 02:05 Before we go any further, 02:07 I'm going to go ahead and introduce the panel today. 02:09 To my direct left, we have Miss Jill Morikone. 02:12 And it's always a blessing to have you. 02:14 Thank you so much, Ryan, privileged to be here. 02:16 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:17 And, of course, hey, 02:18 you haven't been with us the last three weeks, 02:20 but you're here now and that's all that counts. 02:22 We appreciate Pastor John Lomacang with us again. 02:24 I couldn't fathom leaving you guys alone. 02:27 I'm glad to be back. 02:28 We got you. 02:30 Praise the Lord. 02:31 And then, of course, to your direct left, 02:33 we have Miss Shelley Quinn 02:34 and again, we can't say enough 02:35 of how excited we are to have you back 02:37 after a long hiatus of you being not with us. 02:40 But it's a blessing to have you back here. 02:42 It is exciting to be here. 02:44 And I'm just so pleased 02:46 because I always learn from you all 02:47 and it's just exciting to be with you again. 02:50 Thank you for studying with us. Amen. 02:52 Praise the Lord and to your left... 02:55 An empty chair. 02:56 He has defied the laws of physics 02:59 and reality and science 03:01 Pastor Kenny would be with us, 03:03 but because of certain circumstances, 03:05 He's not able to be with us this week. 03:07 But Miss Shelley Quinn is going to take care 03:10 of Thursday's lesson. 03:11 So we're still going to study 03:13 and we're still going to have a good time. 03:14 Amen? Praise the Lord. 03:15 Before we go any further though, 03:17 because we have so much to talk about, 03:19 we need to ask the Lord 03:20 to be with us and to lead and guide us. 03:21 So, Pastor Lomacang, why don't you pray for us? 03:24 Let's bow our heads. 03:25 Gracious Father and loving Lord, 03:27 what a blessing it is to be able to open Your Word 03:29 and to pray for Your Holy Spirit 03:32 that we might rightly divide the word of truth. 03:36 Guide our hearts and minds 03:38 that what we communicate will be clear, 03:40 and those who receive it 03:42 will receive it for Your glory and Your Honor, 03:44 we ask in Jesus' name, amen. 03:47 Amen. Praise the Lord. 03:49 The eyes of the Lord, lesson number four, 03:52 the biblical worldview. 03:53 Sabbath afternoon 03:55 introduces to us our memory text for the week. 03:58 And it comes from Proverbs 15:3, 04:02 and the Bible says, 04:03 "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, 04:07 keeping watch on the evil and the good." 04:10 So there's many text in the Bible 04:11 that clearly communicate that 04:13 you can't hide anything from the Lord. 04:15 He sees all, He knows all. 04:18 And I like how the lesson kind of opens up 04:20 a little bit of a poetic wording 04:23 to kind of get us established here. 04:25 Polish poet, 04:27 and I hope I say this right Czeslaw Milosz. 04:30 Good job. 04:31 Czeslaw Milosz, I think that's correct. 04:33 He wrote a poem, 04:34 which began with his writing about imaginary animals. 04:38 So we're talking about like talking rabbits 04:40 and talking squirrels and things of such. 04:42 And he actually says about the poem. 04:45 He says, "They have as much in common with real animals 04:50 as our notions of the world have 04:53 with the real world." 04:56 Then to the end of the poem, he wrote this, 04:59 he says, "think of this and tremble." 05:03 So I'm going to read that one more time 05:05 because I kind of stumbled on my words there. 05:06 He wrote, he says, 05:08 "They," speaking of these talking animals 05:10 that he wrote about, 05:11 "have as much in common with real animals 05:14 as our notions of the world have with the real world." 05:18 And he says, "think on this and tremble." 05:21 And I think he's emphasizing the fact 05:23 that we live in a world today of vast scattered opinions 05:27 and ideas and ideologies, perspectives. 05:31 And when it comes to worldview or in this case, 05:33 we're studying the biblical worldview, 05:35 because that's ultimately what we want 05:36 to achieve is a correct, 05:38 accurate biblical worldview 05:40 according to what the Bible teaches us. 05:42 There are so many different worldviews 05:45 and as for have been for thousands of years. 05:47 For example, the best educated people thought 05:51 more than 2, 000 years ago 05:52 that the earth or over the last 2, 000 years 05:55 up to a certain point that the earth was flat, 05:58 and also was the center of the universe, 06:00 some of the best educated people. 06:02 So they had kind of a twisted worldview 06:03 in that particular perspective. 06:05 And, of course, speaking of today, 06:07 many of today's most educated people believe 06:11 that human beings evolved from monkeys, 06:13 or from all other sorts of, you know, 06:15 small microscopic life. 06:18 And so and we tend to see the world through filters 06:21 that impact how we interpret 06:22 and understand the world around us. 06:24 And, of course, this is called a worldview, 06:26 how you view the world 06:28 and different aspects of the world around you 06:30 is what it is quickly to find his world view. 06:34 And that's what we want to establish today. 06:35 We want to adopt a correct biblical worldview. 06:38 And that's essentially what the lesson is about. 06:40 So I'm going to dive into Sunday's lesson, 06:42 and kind of just to set this up. 06:43 As I was looking into this lesson and studying, 06:46 it kind of brought my attention back to something 06:48 that I saw a couple of years ago, 06:50 celebrity actor Jim Carey. 06:53 Many people may not know who he is, 06:54 but he's a very popular celebrity 06:56 in the American nation. 06:59 And he actually had an interview 07:01 in which he said of his worldview 07:03 and his perspective in kind of a twist on reality, 07:06 he said, "We don't really exist," 07:08 speaking of human beings, 07:10 "we don't even matter," he says. 07:13 And I thought that to be interesting, 07:15 but then I ran across another interview 07:17 with the chief designer of Space X. 07:20 And of course, the CEO of Tesla, 07:21 his name is Elon Musk 07:23 and it's interesting because in a podcast, 07:25 a public podcast interview, 07:27 he said, speaking of his worldview 07:28 and his perspective of reality, 07:30 he said, "We are most likely living in an alternate reality 07:33 or some kind of simulation." 07:36 This was not, 07:38 there was no sarcasm, they were not, 07:40 this was a real thing where he was dead serious 07:43 and his worldview 07:44 or his picture of reality is that, 07:46 you know, right now, as I'm speaking, 07:48 and as people are living and walking and talking 07:50 and existing around the world today 07:52 that we're probably living 07:53 in some kind of alternate reality, 07:55 or maybe we don't even really exist, 07:56 or maybe it's just some kind of weird, 07:58 you know, 08:00 digital assimilation of some kind. 08:02 But, you know, those are just examples 08:04 of some of the modern takes. 08:06 And some of the mentalities 08:07 of what people are thinking of in reference to the worldview 08:10 and how the world exists and what reality is, 08:13 but at the end of the day, 08:15 we need to make sure 08:16 that we have a proper biblical worldview. 08:17 Even recently, 08:19 an Oxford University professor of chemist 08:20 goes to the point 08:22 that I was making in the beginning, 08:23 an Oxford University professor, 08:24 I think the lesson brings this out, 08:26 has theorized that we, 08:27 the world, and everything around us, 08:31 none of it is real. 08:33 Instead, 08:34 we are the digital creations of a race of aliens 08:37 with super powerful computers. 08:39 And again, these are real people, 08:40 educated people with real ideas. 08:43 And ultimately, 08:44 what we need to ask is what is the nature of reality? 08:47 And really, it comes down to two possibilities. 08:50 Again, some people may think more complex outside of this, 08:52 but it comes down to two foundational possibilities, 08:56 as far as the realities 08:58 that are out there today in the average mind of people. 09:00 And so the first one is, and here it is, 09:02 we've heard of this many times. 09:04 The first is that the universe, 09:06 okay, and all that is in it, including us, just is. 09:12 Nothing created it, nothing formed it. 09:15 It's just here. 09:17 It is simply a brute fact, 09:19 according to this particular line of thinking. 09:21 There is no God, 09:23 there are no gods, there is nothing divine. 09:26 Reality is purely material, purely natural. 09:30 In other words, things just are, 09:33 something potentially came from nothing. 09:35 But at the end of the day, 09:36 it just is 09:38 versus the second true aspect of reality, 09:42 which is where we fall in line is that, 09:43 you know what? 09:45 There's a divine being that created it all. 09:47 There's a divine intelligence behind it all. 09:50 And there are several biblical texts. 09:52 This is where we kind of get into what we believe 09:54 to be the correct biblical worldview. 09:56 We have to go to the Word of God 09:57 and ask ourselves, 09:58 what does the Bible say 10:00 and how can we today as Christians, 10:01 as believers fit our thinking 10:03 and our understanding in harmony 10:05 with what we know to be the biblical worldview. 10:07 And there's a few texts that I believe 10:09 help us line this idea out. 10:11 Psalm 53:1, you got to start there. 10:13 Okay? 10:14 Let's just make this clear from God's perspective, 10:16 from the divine perspective. 10:18 Psalm 53:1 says, 10:20 "The fool has said in his heart, 10:23 there is no God." 10:26 Okay, so let's just start there. 10:27 "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." 10:30 Yet we live in a reality. 10:33 Pastor Lomacang knows this very much 10:35 as we get out into the world today, 10:38 and we begin to do evangelism, 10:39 you're going to meet many, 10:41 many more people around the world. 10:42 Some of the ideas that come out of some people's minds 10:45 is just amazing to me. 10:46 And more and more from the atheistic perspective, 10:50 more and more from the questioning, 10:52 the skeptic mind 10:53 of where did everything come from 10:55 and there's got to be an answer for everything, 10:57 and at the end of the day it leads someone to question 11:00 even the very reality as we have clearly seen 11:03 that we are living in. 11:04 Proverbs15:3, this is another one. 11:07 And this is actually our memory text for the week. 11:10 "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, 11:13 keeping watch on the evil and the good." 11:15 So this is looking into the omniscience 11:18 and the all powerfulness of God, 11:21 the all knowingness of God. 11:23 God knows all, He sees all. 11:26 And so, there is a reality 11:28 in which God the divine being created all. 11:32 He knows all. 11:33 There's an intelligence behind creation 11:34 and that's what the biblical worldview teaches. 11:37 John 3:16. 11:39 Now this is where we get into more 11:40 of a spiritual aspect of the biblical worldview, 11:44 because we're not talking about just some random, 11:46 all powerful being that's out there, 11:48 we're talking about a real being 11:50 that has real feelings 11:51 that actually is much different than the way 11:53 the world portrays them. 11:56 Notice John 3:16, "For God so," 11:58 that's an interesting word 12:00 to use in reference to a divine being. 12:05 "For God so loved the world 12:07 that He gave His only begotten Son, 12:09 that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, 12:11 but have everlasting life." 12:13 God loves. 12:14 I grew up in school, 12:16 or going to school 12:17 I grew up hearing year after year, 12:20 they taught this Greek mythology, 12:21 Roman mythology. 12:23 And the idea that these gods, 12:25 you know, they're just these all powerful beings, 12:28 and they all have different attributes 12:30 and different powers. 12:31 But the one thing 12:32 that was consistent with them all is that 12:34 they really could care less 12:36 if they had any interaction 12:38 or any connection with the human world, 12:41 or the lesser world of the humans. 12:43 And so, you would, 12:44 the common thing you see in Greek mythology 12:46 and even, you know, 12:47 these polytheistic religions around the world 12:51 where they serve many, many gods is this aspect 12:53 that there's the gods, they're out there, 12:55 and then there's us, 12:56 and they really could care less about us. 12:58 In fact, many of them waged war against the humans. 13:01 They tried to wipe out and destroy humankind. 13:04 But yet, 13:05 Christianity is different in the sense that right here, 13:07 the biblical worldview of who God is, 13:09 He's not just some divine God up there in the heavens, 13:13 sitting on a cloud with a, you know, 13:15 powerful lightning bolt in His hand 13:16 waiting to just fry the earth, 13:18 as you might see in the story of Zeus 13:19 and some of these other ones. 13:21 But the Bible says that 13:22 God so loved and that's strange, right? 13:26 Isaiah 45:21, 13:27 "Tell and bring forth your case. 13:29 Yes, let them take counsel together, 13:32 who has declared this from ancient time, 13:35 who has told it from that time, have not either Lord, 13:39 and there is," 13:40 he says, "have not I, the Lord, 13:42 and there is no other God besides me, 13:44 a just God and a savior, 13:47 there is none besides me." 13:49 We serve a savior. 13:50 So the biblical worldview, 13:52 we have to also consider that 13:53 not only is God the divine creator of all, 13:56 and that there's a divine intelligence behind creation, 13:59 but also it's very, very important 14:02 that we understand who God is. 14:04 And I think that's very, very powerful. 14:06 And I have run out of my time, 14:08 but I just want to make this clear 14:09 in the last few seconds that I have here. 14:11 Christians have a responsibility 14:13 to make God who the Bible says that He is. 14:17 To really communicate who God is from a biblical perspective, 14:20 because many of us are getting in trouble 14:22 in presenting God 14:23 to be someone that He is not 14:24 and it messes up the worldview of who God is. 14:28 Amen. 14:30 Powerful lesson, Ryan. 14:31 Thank you so much. 14:32 Beautiful foundation for the biblical worldview 14:34 and who God is. 14:36 On Monday, we have "Leibniz's Question." 14:39 Now, I hope I pronounced his name correctly. 14:41 Gofried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher, 14:46 logician and mathematician of the enlightenment. 14:49 He lived from 1646-1716. 14:52 And his question, 14:54 this is part of his argument for the existence of God. 14:58 His question is simply this, 15:00 "Why is there something rather than nothing?" 15:04 That's the question for Monday's lesson. 15:06 Why is there something rather than nothing? 15:11 He says, 15:12 "The sufficient reason is found in the substance 15:16 which is a necessary being burying the reason 15:19 for its existence within itself, 15:22 meaning God has the reason for existence within Himself. 15:26 Why is there something rather than nothing? 15:30 This is the fundamental question of metaphysics. 15:33 Metaphysics, of course, 15:34 is that branch of philosophy 15:35 that examines the fundamental nature of reality, 15:38 which is what you talked about reality, 15:40 including the relationship between mind and matter, 15:43 and substance and attribute, and potentiality and actuality. 15:47 So why is there something rather than nothing? 15:51 This provides the setting for our lesson, 15:53 which is all about creation. 15:55 Looking at creation, 15:57 go with me to Genesis Chapter 1, 15:59 as our biblical worldview, 16:01 the lens through which we view the world. 16:04 There's four points I want to make. 16:06 First, God created something out of nothing. 16:11 Genesis 1:1. 16:12 That's right. 16:13 "In the beginning, 16:15 God created the heavens and the earth." 16:18 The existence of God is simply assumed, 16:20 no explanation for His existence is given, 16:23 no reason for His origin. 16:25 God is simply given. 16:27 In the beginning, God, God did what? 16:30 God created. 16:32 That word created in Hebrew, I love that word Bara. 16:37 The verb is used only when God is the subject. 16:40 God created. 16:42 And it's always linked to divine creative activity. 16:47 Here it's used of God's ability 16:48 to create something out of nothing. 16:52 It reminds me of Hebrews 11:3, 16:55 Paul says, "By faith, 16:57 we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, 17:01 so that the things which are seen 17:02 were not made of things which are visible." 17:05 It means that 17:07 God made something out of nothing. 17:10 By what? 17:11 By the Word of God. 17:13 In the beginning, God, in contrast to atheism, 17:17 created alone, in contrast to polytheism, 17:21 He rules over creation, in contrast to pantheism. 17:27 Matter had a beginning, as opposed to materialism. 17:31 And the ultimate reality is God, 17:33 not humanity. 17:35 So point number one 17:36 is God created something out of nothing. 17:39 Point number two, God spoke, and it came into existence. 17:43 That's right. 17:45 Genesis 1:3, what did God say? 17:47 God said, "Let there be light and," what happened? 17:49 "And there was light." 17:51 The phrase God said 17:53 appears nine times in Genesis Chapter 1. 17:57 God spoke and the worlds were framed 17:59 and things came into existence. 18:03 It reminds me of Psalm 33. 18:04 Let's jump over there. 18:06 Psalm 33:6-9, "By the," what's that? 18:11 "The word of the Lord, where the heavens made, 18:14 and the host of them by the breath of His mouth, 18:17 He spoke, and it was done. 18:20 He commanded, and it stood fast." 18:23 By the word of the Lord, God spoke, and things happened. 18:27 Light happened 18:28 and plants and animals and trees and flowers, 18:31 you and I, God formed us and created us, 18:35 but everything else in creation, 18:36 God spoke, and it was done. 18:40 Point number three, 18:41 all three persons of the Godhead, 18:44 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were involved in creation. 18:49 Genesis 1:1, we already read that scripture, 18:51 it clearly tells us God's involved in creation. 18:54 "In the beginning, who? 18:56 "God created the heavens and the earth." 19:00 But some people say, 19:01 "Well, God was involved, but Jesus was not involved." 19:04 He most certainly was involved. 19:07 John 1, I love that, 19:08 that comparison between Genesis 1 and John 1. 19:11 John 1:1, 19:13 "In the beginning was the Word, 19:15 and the Word was with God, 19:16 and the Word was God." 19:18 Now who in the world is the Word? 19:20 The Word is the Lord Jesus Christ. 19:22 John 1:14, "The Word was made flesh, 19:25 and dwelt among us." 19:28 In the beginning was the Word, 19:29 meaning Jesus preexisted from all eternity, 19:33 "and the Word was with God," 19:34 meaning Jesus is divine, 19:36 "and the Word was God," 19:38 Father, Son together in the beginning. 19:41 Verse 3, John 1:3, 19:43 "All things were made through Him, 19:47 and without Him, 19:48 nothing was made that was made." 19:50 That tells me that everything that happened in creation, 19:54 Jesus was involved in 19:56 and had an integral part in that creation. 20:00 Ephesians 3:9, 20:02 and to make all see 20:03 what is the fellowship of the mystery, 20:05 which from the beginning of the ages 20:06 has been hidden in God, 20:08 who created all things through Jesus Christ. 20:13 God is the agent of creation, 20:15 but Jesus is the one who actually made that happen. 20:19 Created the worlds through Jesus Christ. 20:21 And as if that isn't enough, 20:22 Hebrews 1:2 tells us the same thing. 20:25 "God has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, 20:29 whom He's appointed heir to all things 20:31 through whom also He made the worlds." 20:35 Now the Holy Spirit was present at creation as well. 20:39 Genesis 1:2, 20:41 "This earth was without form and void, 20:43 and darkness was upon the face of the deep, 20:46 and the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters." 20:51 Job talks about it as well in Job 26:13. 20:54 He says, "By His Spirit, He adorned the heavens." 20:59 Now point number four, 21:01 God created this world in six literal days. 21:06 That is an important world view. 21:10 We can have the worldview that God created. 21:12 We can have the worldview 21:14 that God created something out of nothing. 21:16 We can have the world view 21:17 that God the Father, Son, 21:18 and Holy Spirit were involved in creation. 21:20 But if we do not have the worldview 21:22 that God created this earth in six literal days, 21:26 there comes a problem with our theology 21:29 as we go throughout the Word of God. 21:32 Let's look at that, 21:33 God's creation in these six literal days. 21:36 I see first in Genesis 1:5, 21:39 God's reference to evening and morning being a day. 21:44 He references that, Genesis 1:5, what does he say? 21:47 God called the light day, 21:49 and the darkness He called night. 21:51 So the evening and the morning were the first day. 21:55 And Hebrew, it reads literally, 21:58 evening was, morning was day one. 22:02 Now that's pretty clear. Would you say that's clear? 22:04 That's 24-hour period. 22:05 Evening was, morning was day one. 22:09 If you were to translate into English, you'd say, 22:10 and there was evening, and there was morning, one day. 22:14 It says the same thing. 22:16 In fact, the New Living Translation, 22:18 which we don't usually quote from, 22:19 but it says, 22:21 "An evening past 22:22 and morning came marking the first day." 22:26 We know that the Jews understood this. 22:28 If you look in Leviticus 23:32, 22:32 the Jews calculated a day from sunset to sunset, 22:36 the same way that we keep the Sabbath. 22:38 From evening to evening, 22:40 you shall celebrate your Sabbath. 22:42 We can also look at the use of the Hebrew word for day. 22:45 Now that word for day in Hebrew is yom, 22:48 and it's used for two different things. 22:51 Sometimes it's used for literal 24-hour period, 22:54 which we believe how it's used in the creation account. 22:56 Other times it could be used 22:58 for an indefinite period of time. 23:01 But when that noun yom, 23:03 this word for day appears in the Old Testament, 23:06 when it's used with a numeral, 23:08 it always refers to a literal 24-hour period of time, 23:12 which is in the creation account. 23:13 It's always connected with a certain day, 23:15 day one of creation, or day two, or day three. 23:18 You also think about the interaction 23:20 as it were between the days of creation 23:23 What I mean by that is the plants and vegetation 23:27 were created on day three. 23:28 Now if plants were created, and it was eons of time, 23:32 until the light was created 23:35 until not light, 23:36 but until the sun, moon and stars were created, 23:38 you would have a problem if there was eons of time. 23:42 That's how you get photosynthesis? 23:44 And how would plants survive? 23:45 And how would anything survive 23:47 without the sun for eons of time? 23:49 The other reason is that we see the link 23:52 between the fourth commandment, the seventh day Sabbath, 23:56 and a literal six-day creation week, 24:00 that link's clearly seen in Exodus 20, 24:03 the fourth commandment. 24:04 Exodus 20:8-11. 24:06 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 24:08 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 24:11 but the seventh day is the Sabbath 24:13 of the Lord your God. 24:14 In it, you shall not do any work. 24:17 You nor your son nor your daughter," 24:18 it goes on, we jump down to verse 11. 24:21 It says, "For in six days, 24:23 the Lord made heavens and the earth, 24:25 the sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day. 24:30 Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day 24:32 and hallowed it." 24:34 We see here the connection between the six days 24:36 in which we are to work, 24:38 the six days of, six literal days of creation, 24:42 and the seventh day 24:43 that God blessed and sanctified, 24:46 set apart and made holy. 24:48 We see that, of course, in the Garden of Eden, 24:50 Genesis 2 when God finished to the end of His creative work 24:54 those six literal days of creation, 24:56 and the seventh day He blessed and sanctified it. 25:00 So why is there something rather than nothing? 25:05 It's because in the beginning 25:07 God existed from all eternity 25:10 created the heavens and the earth. 25:14 Amen. 25:15 Praise the Lord. Thank you so much. 25:17 That was powerful. 25:18 You're always very thorough 25:19 and as I'm watching your notes there, 25:21 it's like, man, you've got so much to talk about. 25:23 But that was a blessing. 25:24 My friends, we're going to take a short break, 25:26 we'll be back in just a moment. Don't go anywhere. 25:33 Ever wish you could watch 25:35 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 25:37 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 25:40 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 25:45 A clean design makes it easy 25:47 to find the program you're looking for. 25:50 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:53 so you can follow along. 25:55 Sharing is easy. 25:56 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 25:59 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 26:03 Welcome back to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 26:06 We're going to pass it on to Pastor John Lomacang 26:09 for Tuesday's lesson. 26:10 Thank you, Ryan. 26:12 And thank you those of you who are tuning in. 26:14 Actually, I'm going to continue on the biblical worldview. 26:17 This lesson is very, very interesting. 26:20 And if you haven't received a copy of it yet, 26:22 I know that you'll really appreciate 26:25 when we could really open up 26:26 and walk through the Word of God together. 26:29 I'm on Tuesday, October 20, if you have your lesson, 26:32 just go along with me. 26:33 I'm going to read briefly the introduction. 26:36 Because worldviews, 26:38 something that I really appreciate 26:39 having traveled more than 60 countries, 26:42 I could sit here this morning and recognize that, 26:46 you know, I know what's going on in Australia. 26:49 I can understand 26:50 what people are doing in New Guinea. 26:52 I understand. 26:54 We've been to Paris together. 26:55 And we've been there more than once. 26:57 Parts of Asia, the Caribbean, 27:00 I just recently saw, 27:02 I had an opportunity to go down to the Virgin Islands. 27:06 And when I saw someone's picture on Facebook 27:09 of the Virgin Islands, 27:10 I immediately got sick, 27:13 because I said I should be there. 27:16 And so my mind, I could sit here and worldview, 27:19 it makes a difference in how you communicate, 27:22 how we think 27:23 and how we are able to put a lesson together. 27:26 We start considering cultures and people how they think, 27:30 to be able to structure together. 27:32 And in the introduction of the lesson, it says, 27:34 "As said in the introduction, 27:36 none of us views the world from a neutral position." 27:41 Nobody does. 27:42 One writer says, 27:44 when people say that they are not biased, 27:47 that's not possible. Everyone is biased. 27:50 Everyone has a bias to something. 27:53 So when people say have an open mind, 27:56 that open mind is filtered by that person's worldview. 28:01 If we say how fast was he, 28:03 and I heard this example, 28:05 somebody talked about a snail versus a rabbit. 28:10 And they said, 28:12 the snail said that rabbit was fast, 28:14 then somebody else compared a car to a bicycle 28:17 and said that car was fast. 28:20 Then somebody else compared a Cessna 152 to a fighter jet 28:24 and they said that jet was fast. 28:27 You notice each of the comparisons, 28:29 somebody compared 28:30 a high school runner to Usain Bolt. 28:33 And they said he was fast. 28:35 So it all depends on the comparison, 28:37 what you're comparing it to. 28:39 So what I like to, what I like to dive into, 28:41 is I like to use the gospels 28:43 in the comparison of the worldview. 28:45 A lot of people read the Bible 28:46 for the purpose of using it too, 28:49 as a tool to argue with Christians and they say, 28:52 well, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 28:54 don't always jive together, 28:56 they have some differences. 28:57 Well, consider the thought 28:59 before I get into the lesson, consider the following thought. 29:03 You're standing on one of the four corners 29:05 where an accident occurs, and a large crowd gathers. 29:09 And what is pertinent to the person 29:12 who was injured in the accident, 29:14 and the person who was involved in the accident. 29:16 In America, we use this phrase alleged, 29:19 we say alleged. 29:20 And in other words, until it's proven it's alleged. 29:23 But sometimes that irritates me, 29:24 because you know, 29:26 you can see a video of a guy 29:27 mowing down people with a machine gun. 29:28 And they say he allegedly shot them 29:30 and I thought, 29:31 "Well, did he have a stand-in, that's him." 29:33 So you get what I'm saying. 29:34 Now, now, my worldview goes now to places like Dubai 29:39 or Abu Dhabi, 29:41 where in the very same context, 29:43 this is a kind of a crude illustration, 29:45 but it was on the news, 29:47 where a person with an extreme view 29:51 took the life of an American school teacher 29:53 in a female's bathroom in the airport. 29:56 And there were only two people in the bathroom 29:58 and they saw this person coming out, 30:00 the camera's caught the face of the person. 30:02 They didn't use the word 30:03 she allegedly took that person's life. 30:05 They said, "We got a video." 30:07 And she was hung three days later. 30:09 No due process. 30:11 What a difference in worldview? 30:13 So when we went over to Dubai, 30:15 my wife was told, 30:17 leave your pocketbook on the table. 30:18 We were in a huge massive restaurant, 30:20 leave it right there. 30:21 My wife said, but my, 30:23 but all my bill, they said it's fine. 30:25 Leave it right there. 30:26 We went in a restaurant, there were hundreds of people. 30:28 She said, "Leave it at the table. 30:29 Let's go to the bar and get our food." 30:31 She said, 30:32 "Believe me, leave it there, nobody will touch it." 30:35 Wow. 30:36 And no one touched it. 30:38 She said, "In this country, if you steal something, 30:40 your hand is cut off. 30:43 In this country, 30:44 people take crimes seriously." 30:46 In America, they allegedly took her purse. 30:49 In Dubai or in Middle East, Oh, we got you on video, 30:53 three days later, 30:54 you won't be able to wave goodbye any longer. 30:57 Not to make light of that. 30:58 But the worldview of justice is quite different 31:01 when you think about the world. 31:02 They literally think of an eye for an eye, 31:04 a tooth for a tooth. 31:06 So they said it's one of the safest societies 31:08 in the world for women. 31:10 A woman could walk the street, 31:11 and nobody would even considered bothering her 31:14 because they are thinking of the consequences. 31:16 What a difference in worldview as compared to America. 31:19 Now sometimes we think, 31:20 well, we wouldn't mind having some of that. 31:23 But then again, boy, 31:24 it'll really turn our world upside down. 31:27 So when we think about worldview, 31:28 let's go to the Book of Jonah. 31:29 I want to show you something and I'm kind of diving 31:32 in a completely different direction than the writer. 31:35 Because these questions 31:37 that are asked in the context of Jonah Chapter 1 31:40 are very pertinent 31:41 to developing a person's worldview. 31:44 Now we know the story, 31:45 Jonah was told to go to Nineveh, 31:47 he went to Tarshish instead. 31:50 He went to the opposite direction, 31:52 turbulence hit, 31:53 the mariners couldn't control the ship, 31:56 the passengers knew something was wrong. 31:59 And we start now verses 7 to 9. 32:02 And if you follow the story, Jonah went down, he went down, 32:05 he went down, he went down. 32:07 The life of a person running from the Lord. 32:10 But now verse 7, 32:12 "And they said to one another," 32:13 trying to figure out 32:15 why the ship is in such disrepair, 32:17 "Come, let us cast lots 32:19 that we may know 32:21 for who's caused this trouble has come to us." 32:24 So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 32:29 Then they said to him, 32:30 'Please tell us 32:32 for whose cause is this trouble upon us?'" 32:36 Now, notice the questions. 32:37 These are all worldview questions. 32:39 "What is your occupation?" 32:41 Okay. 32:43 Second one, "Where do you come from?" 32:46 Third, "What is your country?" 32:49 Fourth, "And of what people are you?" 32:53 And his sheepish disobedient response, 32:56 "I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord, 32:59 the God of heaven, 33:00 who made the sea and the dry land." 33:02 If that's in fact the case, Jonah, 33:04 why are you going in the opposite direction? 33:07 Not a good time to testify 33:08 about your relationship with the Lord 33:10 when you're in club, partying. 33:12 Or when you are at a magazine stand 33:14 looking at what you shouldn't 33:16 or when you're buying something that has alcohol in it 33:19 and the person next to you says, 33:20 "I watch you on 3ABN." 33:22 Now that hasn't happened, 33:24 just want to make that point very quick. 33:26 But I noticed I was in a store. 33:29 This is years ago in California, 33:31 I had on a cap, I had dark sunglasses, 33:33 I had on shorts. 33:34 It was a Sunday, long before 3ABN, 33:36 but I've been on television on TBN with Heritage Singers, 33:38 and somebody said, "Hey, is that you?" 33:41 And I turned around startlingly, they said, 33:43 "Hey, I watch you with Heritage." 33:44 And I said to my wife, 33:46 you know, now, our slogan is we cannot dis... 33:49 We can't be disobedient anywhere in the world 33:53 because you never know 33:54 we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. 33:56 So when you think about that, 33:59 think about the questions asked to Jonah. 34:02 And that when you begin to answer these questions, 34:05 you begin to understand the impact of your life 34:07 on a world stage. 34:09 Because Jonah's life, what is your occupation? 34:13 I know years ago, 34:14 the question was asked to a pastor on an airplane, 34:16 what do you do? 34:17 And he said to the person, 34:19 "Hey, I'm a motivational speaker." 34:22 What he didn't know, 34:24 well, that person was going to the same place he went, 34:25 and they both ended up at a camp meeting. 34:28 And that lady who was not a Christian said, 34:31 I saw him on the plane. 34:32 He told me he was a motivational speaker, 34:34 but he's a pastor. 34:35 What is your occupation? 34:36 Are you a Christian all the time? 34:39 Are you a Christian all the time? 34:41 When you think about our responsibility, 34:43 I can't be a pastor only when I'm in a church. 34:46 I've got to be a pastor all the time. 34:48 So I'm challenging you as a person who is a Christian. 34:52 Most of you watching are Christians, 34:54 many of you watching our Seventh-day Adventists. 34:56 You must understand 34:58 your position mindset of who you are all the time 35:01 must be applicable to the witness 35:04 that you give of Christ 35:05 because the way that you demonstrate 35:08 would affect people's worldview about your occupation. 35:12 The other one, where do you come from? 35:13 Now, this is a very challenging one, 35:15 because West Indian people, 35:17 I know that if you say to a person 35:18 that's from Jamaica, 35:19 they're from Trinidad, it's an offense. 35:21 Or you from Puerto Rico and they're from Spain, 35:23 it's an offense. 35:24 People look at where they're from 35:26 as highly a thing of pride, 35:30 but the Christian must look at where they're headed. 35:32 So that shapes my worldview 35:34 more than where I'm from 35:36 because as you can tell, 35:37 I go to the Virgin Islands 35:38 and come back with a tan like this. 35:40 And many, many shades darker 35:41 and people think I'm from India, 35:43 as somebody once said, "Is your husband from India?" 35:46 No. 35:48 "Well, what is he?" 35:49 And my wife went through the litany. 35:50 He's Filipino, white, black and Native American. 35:53 They said, "Never mind." 35:55 But my worldview is, I am a Christian, 35:57 Where am I from is not as important as where I'm headed. 36:00 The third one, what is your country? 36:01 As a Christian, the answer is very simple. 36:04 My citizenship is in heaven, but my location is on earth. 36:10 So when we consider our citizenship, 36:12 once again, it affects our worldview. 36:14 That means we should be Christians 36:16 wherever we are, 36:18 and we never know who is watching. 36:20 So make sure that you're representing 36:22 the citizenship of the kingdom 36:23 where you're headed 36:24 rather than where you came from. 36:26 And also finally, what people are you? 36:29 What people am I? 36:30 I am a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 36:32 Now I take that with a sense of spirit. 36:35 Is there such thing as spiritual pride? 36:37 Be careful. 36:39 Be careful, that's a tightrope. 36:41 Maybe I should say appreciation. 36:44 Appreciating the foundation of my spiritual conviction 36:49 allows me to appreciate everyone else's conviction, 36:52 because Jesus says your worldview affects 36:55 how you communicate with others. 36:57 Other sheep I have that are not of your fold. 37:00 So keep that in mind 37:01 when you represent the Christ of what people you are of? 37:05 Shelley. 37:06 Amen. Thank you. 37:07 You know, I was thinking 37:09 as you were talking about this comparison, 37:11 part of our problem, even as Christians, 37:15 is that we have been infiltrated 37:19 with Greek thinking, 37:21 you know, we're trying to prove something. 37:24 This book, the Bible is a Hebrew document primarily. 37:29 So Hebrews, you know, 37:32 when it starts off in the beginning, 37:34 God, it just tells it assumes God existed, 37:38 doesn't try to prove that He existed. 37:41 But the first 11 chapters of Genesis 37:46 cover 2, 000 years of history, 37:49 but then the next 39 cover 150 years of history, 37:56 heavily weighted toward the Abrahamic Covenant. 38:00 So this is a book of covenant. 38:04 And, boy, our worldview, 38:05 if we don't look at this from a Hebrew perspective, 38:10 we're going to miss a lot. 38:11 Now, I have Wednesday's "Worship the Redeemer." 38:15 Jill, you covered pretty well, 38:16 we were supposed to cover John 1:1-14, 38:20 "In the beginning was the Word," was. 38:23 He was eternal, "and the Word was with God, " 38:27 that means He was distinct from God. 38:30 You've got two persons of the Godhead right there, 38:33 "and the Word was God," 38:35 He is divine, He always has been, 38:38 "the Word became flesh, and He dwelt among us." 38:43 I want to take you to Philippians 2:5-8, 38:46 because if we think about worshiping the Redeemer, 38:51 we've got to recognize who this Redeemer is. 38:56 Jill did such a beautiful job 38:58 of covering Him as creator. 39:03 There are people even in the Christian world 39:07 who think of Jesus, 39:11 the person of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, 39:14 they think of the Son of God, almost in a secondary sense, 39:18 like there is priority. 39:19 God the Father, God the Son, maybe then the Holy Spirit. 39:23 But let's look at this, Philippians 2:5, 39:26 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, 39:32 who being in the form of God," 39:35 and the word there in the Greek 39:37 for form denotes an essential, 39:40 unchanging character of something. 39:44 So Paul's right here saying, 39:45 hey, Jesus eternally has been God. 39:49 He said He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 39:54 because He was God. 39:56 "But He made himself of no reputation 39:58 taking the form of a bond servant 40:00 coming in the likeness of men 40:02 and being found in the appearance of a man, 40:05 He humbled Himself 40:06 and became obedient to the point of death, 40:09 even the death of the cross." 40:13 Jesus Christ crucified, 40:17 resurrected is at the center of all we believe, 40:21 so it's important for us 40:24 to understand the Triune Godhead. 40:29 To me when we say, 1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:16 says, 40:33 "God is love." 40:35 This is the essence of His being. 40:38 But you know, 40:39 to love you have to have a recipient of love. 40:42 If God were just... 40:44 We don't believe that it's God, 40:47 one plus one plus one that would equal three, 40:50 but it's God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 40:54 one times one times one, one cubed, 40:58 one to the third power, 41:00 and His presence is in the cube. 41:03 Think of the Holy of Holies was a cube, 41:06 that the New Jerusalem coming down is a cube. 41:10 So to me that's excited to understand 41:14 that God came down to become the Son of Man, 41:20 to become the Son of God. 41:24 It was God who went to the cross. 41:26 Why should we worship our Redeemer? 41:29 He is our Creator. 41:32 Matthew 1:23 41:35 repeats the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. 41:40 Says, "Behold, 41:42 the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, 41:44 they shall call his name Immanuel," 41:48 which is translated God with us. 41:53 It was God, 41:55 who came to earth to become a man. 41:59 Hebrews 1:8 says, 42:01 "To the Son, He says, "Your throne, " 42:05 this is the Father speaking to the Son, 42:08 interesting language, 42:10 "Your throne, O God is forever and ever," 42:15 speaking to the Son. 42:18 You see, our Creator became our Redeemer, 42:23 and He paid the price 42:26 to free us from the bondage of sin. 42:31 What happens according, I love this scripture. 42:34 Now that I've done more study on it, I really, 42:37 1 Corinthians 15:45. 42:40 1 Corinthians 15:45 42:44 will help us understand the person of Jesus Christ. 42:50 It says, 42:51 "The first man, Adam, became a living being. 42:57 The last Adam is a life, became a life-giving spirit." 43:03 It's wrong to call Jesus the second Adam. 43:06 He's the last Adam. 43:08 See, it is this covenant language. 43:14 Adam was called the Son of God. 43:19 When God came down to become the Son of Man, 43:22 when He was incarnated, born of a woman, 43:26 He became the Son of Man, and the Son of God. 43:30 He was the last Adam. 43:32 The covenant is all about 43:35 a succession of covenant sons. 43:41 When we think of the words, the Son of God, as I said, 43:46 Adam is called the Son of God, 43:48 David was referred to as the Son of God, 43:51 the Son of God is a covenant term. 43:55 So God in the person of Jesus Christ 44:01 became the Son of God as the second, 44:05 the last Adam, excuse me. 44:08 When we use the word firstborn, 44:13 in the covenant language 44:15 it doesn't necessarily mean 44:18 the order of a chronological order of your birth. 44:23 As a matter of fact, in Exodus 4:22, 44:27 let's look there. 44:29 Exodus 4:22, 44:31 this is God speaking, and he says, 44:36 "You shall say to Pharaoh, thus says the Lord, 44:42 'Israel is my son.'" What? 44:46 This is covenant language. 44:48 Israel was the Son of God, 44:50 he says, "My first born." 44:54 See, firstborn just simply means 44:58 it's the channel 44:59 through which covenant blessings 45:02 are going to pass. 45:03 Israel wasn't the first nation. 45:06 But God chose them for a covenant purpose. 45:09 Look at Deuteronomy 32:18. 45:13 And the reason I'm wanting to stress this, 45:16 I hope I don't confuse you. 45:18 This is just to introduce you to this concept. 45:23 But in Deuteronomy 32:18, God says of Israel, 45:29 or speaking of God, He says, 45:31 "Of the rock, who begot you, " 45:37 begotten, yes, the word can mean 45:40 that you've given birth to a child. 45:44 But in covenant language, 45:46 when it is used, did God give birth to Israel? 45:50 No, it means they're set apart 45:54 for a covenant purpose. 45:57 So when it's talking about Jesus being when He said, 46:01 the Lord said to Him, 46:02 "Today, I have begotten you." 46:06 The important point is to remember, 46:09 it was God, who went to the cross for us. 46:14 It wasn't some secondary situation here. 46:20 1 Timothy 3:16 says, 46:22 "Great is the mystery of godliness, 46:24 God was manifested in the flesh, 46:27 justified in the spirit, 46:28 preached among the Gentiles, believed in the world, 46:31 and received up in glory." 46:35 He is the eternal person, 46:37 the second person of the Godhead, 46:40 who became the last Adam and died for us. 46:43 I think that is amazing. 46:45 Now, let's... We want to tie that in. 46:49 And I really didn't have much of a chance 46:51 to look at the lesson for Thursday. 46:54 But the Thursday's lesson 46:57 is talking about the law of God. 46:59 Let's begin with Exodus 3:2. 47:02 Just turn in your Bibles to Exodus, 47:05 I hope I can get where I want to go with this, 47:09 but Exodus 3:2 says this, 47:15 "The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame," 47:18 to Moses, 47:19 "in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush, 47:21 and he looked, and behold, 47:23 the bush was burning with fire." 47:25 The angel of the Lord, 47:27 the word angel there means messenger. 47:30 It means, who's in this burning bush? 47:34 Take off your shoes, you're on holy ground. 47:36 This is God. 47:38 This is Jesus Christ, who is in the burning bush, 47:42 the angel of the Lord. 47:45 Now, also, we know that if you turn to... 47:49 I've got, I did write a note down 47:51 somewhere here real quickly. 47:53 If you turn to Exodus 19:4, 47:59 let's turn there. 48:01 In Exodus 19:4, I love this verse. 48:05 God says, 48:07 "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians 48:10 and how I bore you on eagle's wings 48:13 and brought you to Myself." 48:15 This is covenant love language. 48:18 God had already redeemed them from Egypt. 48:24 He had already brought them out, 48:26 He had saved them, 48:27 they come through the Red Sea. 48:29 Now they've come to that He's telling them, 48:31 "Gather before Me on Mount Sinai," 48:33 and what does God do? 48:35 He comes down with shocking awe. 48:38 Pyrotechnics, there's fire, there's smoke. 48:41 He's going to show them, they've forgotten who He is, 48:44 that He is good, 48:46 that He is just, that He is holy. 48:48 And when He speaks His Ten Commandments, 48:51 it's not in that tone of thou shalt not. 48:54 I'm sure, the voice of the Lord, 48:56 they say is like many rushing waters. 49:00 But these are 10 promises. 49:02 He's going to show them His love. 49:05 And on the first tablet, He's saying to them, 49:08 hey, when you're in covenant relationship with Me, 49:12 My saved ones, 49:14 you will not have other gods before Me. 49:17 You will not make idols like they did in Egypt. 49:21 You won't bow down to those, you won't take My name in vain. 49:25 You are going to be so excited about the Sabbath, 49:28 you will remember the Sabbath, 49:30 you will come to Me to fellowship, 49:32 you will not, 49:34 you will honor your mother and father, 49:36 you won't murder, you won't commit adultery, 49:38 you won't steal, you won't bear false testimony, 49:41 and you're not going to covet. 49:44 Why? 49:45 Because that's what covenant relationship with Me is like. 49:49 You know, I want you to look at the preamble 49:52 to these Ten Commandments. 49:54 God speaking them, 49:56 He says, "I am the Lord 49:58 your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 50:03 out of the house of bondage." 50:05 Oh blessed be the name of the Lord. 50:08 He is telling them, "I'm your Savior." 50:12 So they're not going to have to obey 50:14 these Ten Commandments to be saved. 50:16 They're going to obey them 50:18 as an expression of covenant love and loyalty, 50:22 because He's already saved them. 50:25 Now, this is interesting. 50:27 We know that James tells us, James, what is it 2:8, 50:32 that if you break one, you break them all. 50:34 The Ten Commandments are linked together as a body. 50:40 You can't break a chain in the middle 50:43 and still be keeping His commandments. 50:46 So let's look at the fourth commandment 50:48 because the very one that God's says, 50:51 remember, it's the one everybody forgets. 50:54 In commandment number four, this is Exodus 20:8. 50:59 This is the longest commandment. 51:01 He says, 51:03 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 51:05 Six days you shall labor," 51:07 some people need to hear that, 51:08 "six days you shall labor and do all your work, 51:11 but the seventh day is the Sabbath, 51:14 the Lord your God." 51:16 I want to pause, 51:17 Genesis 2:2-3 mentions 51:21 the seventh day three times in creation. 51:23 It says, "God rested on the seventh day, 51:26 God blessed the seventh day, 51:29 God sanctified the seventh day." 51:32 Only God can sanctify a day, 51:34 setting it apart for holy purposes. 51:37 And then He goes on to say, 51:40 "In it, you shall do no work, 51:42 you nor your son, nor your daughter, 51:44 nor your male servant, nor your female servant, 51:46 nor your cattle, nor your stranger 51:48 who was within your gates." 51:51 I remember, I didn't grow up as a Sabbath keeper. 51:57 I was 50 years old 51:58 when God called me to full-time ministry. 52:01 He told me, I'm praying and said, 52:04 "Lord, you got to show me what You want me to teach." 52:08 And you know what 52:09 the Lord impressed on my mind is, 52:12 "Come sit at My feet, I will teach you." 52:14 He started me on the study of the sanctuary. 52:17 I found out His Ten Commandments 52:19 are written on stone inside the ark, 52:22 that meant permanence. 52:23 Then I found out that the book of the covenant, 52:26 all of the rest of those regulations 52:29 in which the Ten Commandments was the heart 52:31 was on the side pocket of the ark. 52:34 And all of a sudden, I'm going, "Oh, 52:37 there's only one commandment that I'm not keeping." 52:41 And I studied the Sabbath commandment. 52:45 I have never been so excited 52:47 the first time that I celebrated a Sabbath. 52:52 The Sabbath is a memorial of God as creator. 52:56 But the one it's a memorial 52:58 that He is the one who is recreating us 53:01 in the image of Jesus. 53:04 It's a memorial that He is our Redeemer, 53:06 that He is our Savior. 53:08 The Sabbath, 53:09 also God says in Exodus 31:13, 53:14 He said, 53:15 "My Sabbath I gave to You as a sign 53:18 that I am the one who sanctifies you." 53:22 If you don't know 53:24 what the word sanctifying means, 53:26 actually, it's a synonym for holy. 53:29 But both of those words 53:30 just mean to be set apart for God. 53:34 So, all of my life, 53:37 I had grown up in a New Testament Church, 53:40 then I had gone into a full gospel type church, 53:45 a non-denominational church. 53:47 But you know what? 53:49 All of my life I performed for God. 53:53 I tried to earn His favor. 53:56 It was not until 53:59 the day that I began celebrating the Sabbath. 54:03 I remember that first Sabbath day. 54:05 As it rolled in, I was just like, 54:08 Lord, thank you that I am not only justified 54:13 by grace through faith, 54:15 but you're the one that is going to sanctify me. 54:18 You're the one as Philippians 2:13 says, 54:21 who is working in me to will 54:23 and to do your good pleasure. 54:25 You are the one as Philippians 1:6 says 54:28 that is going to complete the good work 54:30 You've begun in me. 54:32 You know, I have to say this to my friends out there. 54:36 1 John 3:4 says, 54:40 "Sin is the transgression of the law." 54:44 If God intended to do away with His law, 54:48 if He would have changed His Sabbath day, 54:50 we know that Daniel 7:25 says that 54:53 there is going to be a power 54:55 who thinks to take change times and laws. 54:59 The only time that we find in God's law 55:01 is the Sabbath time. 55:03 But if God intended to do that, 55:06 He would have announced it and He never does. 55:09 The New Testament is the outworking 55:12 of all of God's covenant promises 55:15 and He promises you 55:19 that you will walk in loyalty and obedience, 55:23 if you just understand how much He loves you. 55:26 Amen. Amen. 55:28 Wow! Praise the Lord. That was powerful, Shelley. 55:30 Thank you so much. 55:31 Well, we have just a little over two minutes left. 55:34 Let's get some final thoughts from the panel. 55:36 I had Monday Leibniz's Question, 55:38 "Why is there something rather than nothing?" 55:41 And why is that? 55:42 'Cause in the beginning, God created, 55:45 and He not only created this world, 55:47 but He sent His Son Jesus to die for us 55:49 because He wanted to redeem us 55:52 so that we could spend an eternity with Him. 55:56 Okay. 55:58 And mine was on the biblical worldview. 56:01 When I narrow it down to the biblical worldview, 56:04 I think that is so easy 56:06 when we talk to people 56:07 that may not believe what we believe, 56:09 we can narrow it down to say, 56:11 here's the reality of the biblical worldview, 56:14 as we all are born, 56:16 we all die, and we all need a Savior. 56:19 And when we approach it from that perspective, 56:22 people will begin to see 56:23 that it's not your viewpoint nor your opinion, 56:25 but we are at that beginning point of birth, 56:28 on the same plane, 56:29 and each one of us is in need of a Savior, 56:31 Amen. 56:32 And mine was Wednesday, Worship the Redeemer. 56:35 Why should we worship Him? Because He is our Creator. 56:38 Remember the covenant language, 56:40 when we talk about the Son of God, 56:42 it's the son of the covenant, 56:43 the firstborn is the preeminent, 56:46 it doesn't have anything to do 56:48 in covenant language about the chronology, 56:52 and begotten doesn't mean to be birthed 56:56 but to be set aside for chosen for covenant purposes, 57:01 and then the law of God. 57:03 Oh, this is God's way 57:05 of putting boundaries around us, 57:08 so that we will walk in His blessings 57:11 and avoid sin's consequences. 57:14 Amen. Praise the Lord. 57:16 There was a section from Sunday's lessons 57:17 that I didn't get a chance to read, 57:19 but I want to read it now 57:20 because I think it ties everything together. 57:22 It's essential to any Christian education 57:24 is the reality not just of God, 57:27 but of the kind of God that He is. 57:30 A personal God who loves us and who interacts with us. 57:34 And I think that's powerful. 57:36 When we know who God is, 57:37 we have the correct biblical worldview, 57:40 then everything comes together and make sense. 57:43 So thank you so much for joining us this week 57:45 on 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 57:46 We hope that you join us next week 57:48 for lesson number five, 57:50 "Jesus as the Master Teacher." 57:53 So you have a blessed day 57:54 and we will see you right back here next week. 57:56 God bless. Amen. |
Revised 2020-10-22